


The Wall of Storms

by Vepaluiron



Series: Struggle For Power [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, High Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Multi, Original Character(s), Other, Rating May Change, Undeath, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22757707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vepaluiron/pseuds/Vepaluiron
Summary: Sinister forces gather as the world moves on, unaware. A long-dead ranger wakes up after 3000 years of darkness, her memories completely gone. A wrathful goblin roams the land, searching for a cause. An undead soldier wanders alone, fulfilling his obligations to whatever being raised him. A half-elven child searches for a family, slowly discovering her true potential on the way. A parasite jumps from person to person, the need for power consuming its mind. A paladin kneels before the presence of her gods, waiting for a sign. The string of Fate ties them together, and their union shall change the world forever.
Relationships: Original Character(s) & Original Character(s), Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Series: Struggle For Power [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636399
Kudos: 1





	1. Something Old, Something New

'The Forbidden Forest' they call it; the place I once called home, now an unexplored taboo site, tainted by wicked sorcery, no shorter than three millennia ago. Of course, had one asked me then —when I first found myself wandering the earth once more— would I have had no way of replying as such. My mind was almost completely blank and empty, as was my body.

I laid motionless, entangled by vines, as forgotten as a corpse —little did I know then, that I wasn’t entirely incorrect. After deëntangling myself from the vine-prison in which I have been left for seemingly centuries, I noticed the bow beside me —the wood of which was rotten— and I watched as a small piece fell off and landed beside me. _“I had been engraved with a bow?”_ was my initial thought, followed by _“Was I-... Am I an archer?”_ . I reached down and grabbed the bow, the ancient grip fitting almost perfectly into my hand. _“Logic would suggest as such.”_

I turned my head to scan my surroundings, and noticed that an arrow filled quiver laid beside me, as rotten and archaic as me and my bow. I picked one arrow up and notched it to the string, held my bow, took aim, and shot. I groaned as muscles that felt as if they hadn’t been used in centuries protested against the sudden weight of drawing the bow and I could’ve sworn that my bones creaked as I moved, but I still grinned at the revelation. _“My body still remembers what my mind does not…”_ My mind raced as I studied the arrow, which had gone perfectly through the center of a high up fruit.

I took a step forward to retrieve my arrow before stumbling, my balance being thrown off by an unexpected difference in height. I held on to one of the vines that had been holding me up and properly looked down for the first time since my awakening. If I still had a stomach to contain food, I’m sure I would’ve emptied it at the sight which awaited my eyes.

Below the knee, my left leg —the source of my imbalance— was without skin; the muscles, bare; and my foot, completely skeletal. I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself, but I felt my throat close up as it rejected the air trying to enter my lungs. My gaze drifted higher. My right arm, like my opposite leg, gradually shed its skin, then the meat. I brought up my skeletal hand up to the hole in my chest. The shock ebbed and I laughed dryly. “The living do not normally have holes in their bodies, do they?” I whispered to myself. “The living do not continue to be with muscles and bones exposed, yet do corpses not walk or talk… or think.” No, I was not in limbo, I was limbo itself: neither dead, nor alive; stuck between the two states; not one, nor the other, questionably, or should I say eerily, neither at once. I looked up at the strange purple sky, the air around me heavy with the taste of magic. “I suppose I would be the offspring of this unheard of marriage between magic and nature, judging by everything I’ve observed yet. “How...”, a shimmer of light above my hand caught my eye, “...awe-inspiring.” 

My hand bumped a metallic object hanging from my neck. I picked it up between my fingers and held it up towards the sky. I squinted. The object, made out of what seemed like bronze, gleamed in the pale violet moonlight; an ‘A’ carved into its half-heart shape. _“A…”_ I thought, staring intently at the carving. _“That must mean something. Perhaps-”_

My thoughts were cut short as I heard a sudden noise nearby. I swiftly notched another arrow as my ears twitched, attempting to track the source of the disturbance. The same noise repeated itself, enabling me to locate the source. My eyes widened as I recognized the familiar sound: a war cry —yet one with a higher pitch than what was habitual for me. I slowly parted the nearby bushes from where the shouting came from, not expecting the sight I beheld: an elfoid child, with an unusual green skin —not bright as the freshly-grown grass of spring, yet a darker tone similar to that of moss— in combat with a giant toad-like creature. The child yelled an incomprehensible string of words —in a language completely foreign to me, cried the war cry I had heard, and raised her axes to strike the creature —which I found intriguing, seeing a child as proficient with such weapons as her. 

Before I knew what was happening, time almost seemed to slow down as I focused, my eyesight enhanced to a never-before-known precision, making me able to realise the parts of the beast that are invisible to the naked eye, it apparent to me the parts of the beast, which it seemingly tried to leave in obscurity —I reasonably inferred that the reason for which it hid these parts as they were that these are the points from which the creature would be critically injured— that has now become my adversary. I drew the loose string in my hand, shooting the creature in the middle of its forehead. The child struck right afterwards, her axes carving 2 strips of flesh from the beasts side flank as she vaulted to the other side. The beast roared and its tongue launched itself out of its mouth, attempting to strike the child, but the surprisingly dexterous child dodged effortlessly and swung one of her axes to cut off the offending tongue. The frog recoiled and opened its mouth in pain, as I took aim once more, utilising my advantageous —or rather the beasts disadvantageous— state, and shot two more arrows, delivering the final blow. The beast sputtered once, twice, then slumped to the floor; a muck-toned green goo of horrendous odour started to leak out of its body, its smell only slightly worse than its sight. I walked over to the child, slinging my new (old?) bow over my shoulder, as she sheathed her axes and patted the body of the deceased beast. She grinned at me. 

“Nice shootin’ out there!” 

“Oh, uh,” I looked at the child, confused by her strange accent, and cleared my throat. “Thank you? You… You, yourself, are competent on your own right despite your age. Are you alright?”

“Yeah!” assured the child, before starting to salvage the corpse. I winced at the technique as the handaxes slashed through the skin, and my hand found the hilt of a familiar, yet foreign, blade. I pulled it out of my belt and inspected it as the child kept talking. “I could’ve taken that frog-thing by myself, but still, thanks for the help.” 

“Right.” The blade shone softly in the pale violet moonlight though took on rust, had it; the hilt wrapped in a leather that must have been soft at the time of its creation but now was it hard and falling apart. I tore my eyes from the blade and looked back at the child. “May I have your name?” 

“Oh!” The child turned around, grinning once more, chunks of frog meat in her hands. “My name’s Bouly Borra (though I learnt of an unofficial title of hers: “the Bastard” in due time), but all my friends call me Bobo!” Her face fell as she kicked a small stone on the ground, though her tone changed not, in an attempt to elude the fact of her clearly sorrowful expression, “Or they would if, you know, if I had any…” 

I glanced at the child, Bobo, before crouching down and smiling at her —never without an underlying fear of unintentionally intimidating the child. “Well, Bobo,” the child’s face shifted to an expression of surprise yet also of excitement at the pronunciation of this nickname she had self-reserved for her friends (as inferrably understood she the hidden meaning that was the cherry-on-the-top of my dessert of a sentence), “I can be your friend.” 

Bobo gasped having assured herself to have understood what I meant, excitement filling her eyes, as she jumped around. I pulled myself back up to my full height. Bobo jumped one last time, then looked at me with a curious spark in her eyes. “What’s your name?” 

I stopped in my tracks, my body tensing up as I processed the question. “What was my name, truly?” I ransacked my brain for the answer, yet there was nothing. I sighed and rubbed my temples. “I… cannot seem to remember my name.” I began slowly. Maybe talking it out loud would jostle my memory. “Nor can I remember anything else about my past. I… awoke with some sort of a necklace around my neck, though it is nothing I can recognize.”

“Is there anythin’ on it or somethin’?” 

“Yes?” I grabbed the necklace and turned it to look at the ‘A’ engraved unto it. My eyes fluttered shut as I concentrated. “If carved on a necklace and left on my body, it must have been a name, perhaps even my own.” I thought, trying to take a logical route this time. “A name that must have been important to me. A name that starts with the letter ‘A’? The most common elven name… Aleine?” At the thought of the name, a strong wave of nostalgia hit me like heat in the middle of the dry season; a whisper in the wind; a warmth that coursed through my unfeeling body; the caress of a lover— I opened my eyes and looked at Bobo. “I believe that the name ‘Aleine’ might have been important to me.” 

Bobo shrugged. “Well, unless ya got anythin’ better, why not use that as ya name for now?” 

“That is…” I thought about it for a few moments, considering the alternatives, “I suppose that would make sense. Then shall I be called Aleine.” I looked around, pondering my next move, before turning back to Bobo. “What are we to do now?” 

“Well…” Bobo placed her finger on her chin as she hummed. “We could go over to my people! There’s this huge book place, maybe it has some stuff on ya past?”, she explained, presumably as humour addressing my rather archaic appearance (though knew she not how genius an idea she had conjured).

I smiled. “That is a brilliant plan, Bobo. Well,” I gestured with my hand. “Lead the way,” —and thus started a companionship to last naught short (and one who eventually halted not to grow).

We walked into the small town around sunrise. People, tiny little green-skinned creatures not unlike Bobo, stared at us —with a different emotion for each of us: to me, of inquiry and fear; to her, of disgust and rebuke— as Bobo led me towards a small building. “Well, here we are!” She exclaimed, stopping in front of the old wooden door. “This is the village’s librar- libr-” She furrowed her brow, mumbling, before sighing. “Book place. If you’re gonna find anythin’ on ya past, or anythin’ really, it’s here!” 

I pushed the door open, having to duck slightly to get through the short archway —I guessed these curious creatures did not have many elves visit their village, certainly no _undead_ ones. The small green creature— taller than Bobo but still barely up to my waist, stood at the counter and looked me over, frowning. I self-consciously tugged my rugged cloak over my skeletal hand, nodded at him, then went deeper inside to look at these ‘books’. I leaned down and asked Bobo “So. What exactly are these ‘books’?” I pulled out one, feeling the leather cover and the weirdly textured insides, laughing slightly at how the texture felt against my fingers. “How curious! What is this made out of?” I squinted at the scripture, trying to make it out but failing to do so. “And this writing…” I ran my fingers over it as if it would help me understand, though made me it more bewildered not feeling cavities of stone from engraving upon it. “What strange language is this?” 

Bobo looked up and me and shrugged. “Common? I don’t know, I don’t really come to this place too much.” She pointed discreetly at the man at the counter. “The bookman would know anythin’ you wanna know, probably.” 

I went up to the counter, smiling at the ‘bookman’ as sympathetic as I could, in contrast to her lingering face of disapproval of my presence. “Excuse me, would you happen to have any of these ‘books’ about Elven history?” 

The ‘bookman’ glanced at me, then took off his glasses and rubbed the lenses on her shirt. “I think I have something, but it’s a simple children’s book.” She put his glasses back on and peered over them. “I doubt you’ll find any useful information.” 

“Any sort of information would be invaluable.” I said, my voice taking on a desperate edge as I grabbed the edge of the counter. “Anything you have I’ll take.” 

“Let me go find that book.” The ‘bookman’ hopped down —turns out she was standing on a box— and went through the piles of books behind her. She came out a few minutes later, a large book with a thick leather cover in hand. “There you go!” She dusted off the covering and smiled. “The Princess and the Dragons. Probably an I'Hostari tale, turned into legend.” He shrugged. 

“I’Hostari?” 

“I’Hostar,” he corrected. “It was an ancient elven tribe near here, but it got destroyed thousands of years ago. In all honesty, the only reason any of us know about them is because of human historical texts mentioning them once or twice.” 

I closed my eyes, thinking about the tribe she had mentioned: “I’Hostar.” A sudden feeling of warmth; a reassurance, an embrace; a clouded vision of habitualness, and of home, —Yes, home was it, that I felt!— solely from the mention of this name; _“Why did that name feel so familiar to me?”_

“Anyways. Nobody has asked about this one in a while.” She looked back at me. “That would be twenty silver.” 

“O-oh, right.” I reached into my pouch, praying to Sylvia —a name, I realized, I prayed to without a second doubt despite not knowing its true meaning— that I still had money on my body. “Eureka!” I promptly counted out twenty pieces of silver. “There you go!” 

“Thank you for your patronage.” The woman took the money and went back to reading her book. I went outside, book in hand, Bobo following. I opened up the book, but I couldn’t make out the strange symbols inside. I squinted and looked at the pictures, hoping to understand the contents. Simply flipping through, I could figure out a few select things. I turned to Bobo’s aid. 

“Bobo, are you able to decrypt these strange symbols?” I lowered the book for her to see.

“I mean… kinda?” 

With Bobo’s help, we managed to translate the book: It was about 3 women, whose names were not fully written but mentioned as ‘Priestess A’, ‘Huntswoman C’, and ‘Barbarian K’, fighting 2 red dragons to save a princess. I sighed. “It truly is a simple children’s book.” I turned to Bobo, not looking in front of me. “I had hoped that some useful information would’ve come out of this-” 

I stopped as I bumped into someone, metal digging into my shoulder. “Oh, pardon me, are you alright-” She… hit my shoulder? Every person in this village was shorter than me. I turned around to see a tall figure, at least one head taller than me, clad in black metal armor from head to toe and a sword as tall as her slung behind her back. She slowly turned back around, a dark energy seeming to emanate from her presence that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. We looked at each other for a few moments, a tension forming between us, before they took off their helmet. Shoulder length white hair, tied back, framed a musculine face with weirdly flat and short ears unlike mine; red eyes, glowering, seeming to pulse with a strange energy at the same time as the markings on their face. 

I, at first, could not understand what manner of creature I was looking at; though the blank space, or should I say one of the blank spaces, in my mind was soon filled with a whispering voice: a female, familiar in a way I could not place but made my unbeating, unexisting heart wrench with longing. The voice muttered about another sex which did not exist in my own knowledge— my mind could not even comprehend such an existence back then. Now, as I looked upon the armored form in front of me, I finally understood what the unknown voice meant. The armored figure tilted his head up slightly, before his lips twitched with a smile. He held out an armored hand.

“I am called Ludleth. How nice is it to meet new people around here; especially ones with a condition such as my own.” I warily eyed his clawed gauntlet, before reaching out and carefully shaking it. 

“You may call me Aleine. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” I frowned as I let go, pondering upon his statement. “What do you mean, a condition like yours?” 

He chuckled. “Is it not clearly remarkable?” He pointed to his hair and eyes, and finally made a gesture to his unusually pale skin: “Undeath.” 

“You… You are also undead? Has this nature of sourcery become common in the unknown years I have been in slumber, or has it always been a known occurrence that I never realised?” 

He squinted his eyes. “It’s not… a common occurrence, in any sense. Although,” he shrugged sheepishly, “There has always been undead that roam the world sans conscious, the ones who can still think —like you and I...”, he lightly bumped his knuckles to my shoulder to accentuate his point. “...now that is a gift not granted to every corpse to be unfortunate enough to be given a second chance.” That statement awoke a new question in my mind: “A second chance,” I thought, “I indeed have not yet thought about why I am here, have I?” I never could answer this question for quite a while, I now realise.

I looked around at the green creatures (elfoids?) looking at us strangely, and sensed that it was time for us to leave. “I do not think that these tiny green elfoids are particularly glad about our presence in the middle of their village. Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere?”

“The goblins?” He shrugged. “Sure. I’ve got some business up north, in ‘Prospera Dea Socia’ regardless. You could accompany me if you’ve got not yet an objective of your own.” 

I looked down at Bobo. “What do you think? I do not have anything to do, and it would be my honor if you went along with me on my next path.” 

“Oh!” Bobo, seeming startled to suddenly be involved in the conversation, exclaimed. “I mean, yeah, why not? I don’t have nothin’ to do.” 

“Then it is settled,” I said, looking back at Ludleth. “We shall travel together for the moment.” And thus was a droplet a new, on the cavity on earth that was yet two (now three) droplets of Bobo, Ludleth newly making his way, and I, which was destined to become a pool of alliance; friends, nay; family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! We'll try to update this series weekly, though the schedule might get set off if we're all busy. As always, our Tumblr is [right here](https://struggleforpower.tumblr.com/), so if you have questions, you can always bother our GM there. We all hope you enjoyed!


	2. Familiar Lands Under Foreign Steps

My whole life —and death— have I pursued solely my goals: the seeds of ideals that I wish come to fruition. From my resurrection a few months ago, have I been focusing completely on my new goals, being in complete solitude.

It was an unusual experience to no longer travel alone. Usually, my boots clinking on the dirt pathways was my only companion, but now 2 more pairs had joined mine. Aleine, allegedly, was quiet; I noticed how her ears twitched at the slightest noise and how her pale yellow eyes flitted attentively as if she was analyzing everything she saw and heard, an appreciable trait in all candor, yet the paranoid behaviour, in my eyes, was an impure motivation for investigativity. She had all the mannerisms of an I’Hostari elven ranger, from what I recall of my days as a “non-undead”. 

Bobo, on the other hand, was loud and hyperactive, always an appreciable trait in its own right, though she lacked curiosity —or rather, a drive to learn; she jumped around and ran ahead during the day, spending all her energy, then crashed during the night, which, in fact, turned out to be an inconvenience. I had forgotten that the living needed to sleep (renders them weak, in all candor), and even though Aleine didn’t  _ need  _ to sleep, she could grow tired —inferrably due to a “sloppy” job at reänimation. We decided with Aleine to stop to rest every few days as she got tired, and that she and I would switch carrying Bobo on the nights we decided to continue our journey. 

“So,” Aleine cleared her throat at one of the nights we decided to camp, her fingers nervously drawing symbols across the dirt. “You are also undead?” 

“Yep.” 

“If you do not mind me asking, how long ago were you… you know…” 

“Raised?” I tilted my head towards her. She looked down at her feet and nodded. I looked up at the stars and thought about how to reply for a few moments. “I was not raised too long ago, but it’s been three thousand two hundred something years since my death.” I looked back at her. “Killed. I was killed.” 

“I… I am sorry for your loss? If it would be any consolation for you, from what I have noticed about my corpse of a body, I was also killed.” She glanced down at all the exposed holes and rips in her armor and skin; she was right, she was indeed killed, yet reason would suggest not by conventional battle. I grimaced, already thinking about the problems we would go through in civilization. 

“Yeah… We need to take care of that sometime. Especially if we intend to go into populated places.” I shrugged. “Not that I mind, but the  _ living  _ might.” When she didn’t reply, I continued in an attempt to calm her: “Why did you ask?” 

“Well, I was simply wondering if you would know anything about my past.” She chuckled dryly, shaking her head. “Pathetic, is it not? I cannot remember even a single memory of who I was. I...” 

“Don’t worry about it.” I put my hand on her shoulder and she glanced up at me, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I’m sure with time, you’ll remember everything. When were you raised?” 

“It has been a few nightcycles since I have awoken.” 

“Only a few days? Shit.” I drew a sharp breath. “Look. I’ll try to help you. Is there anything at all you remember?” 

“I… I have reasons to believe that I was a member of the elven tribe of I’Hostar.”

“The I’Hostari?” I hummed, trying to remember. It had been quite a while since I had seen any of them. “They had three leaders, if I remember correctly, though I only met Aleine, the High Priestess.” At the mention of the name, I looked at her. 

She shrugged, scratching her neck with her non-skeletal hand. “It is a common Elven name. That actually reminds me...” She reached into her tattered bag and pulled out a book. “I acquired this book in the goblin village. Maybe this will help?” 

I flipped through the book. It was a children’s tale, complete with crayon stick figure drawings. I looked at the names of the characters. “A, C, and K? Oh.” I shook my head. “Aleine, Celdrin, and… Qral’dow, I believe. The High Priestess, Ranger-General, and Tribe leader, respectively.” I pointed to the crudely illustrated characters as I spoke. “I never really met any of them, but my sister met Aleine.” I smiled at the memory of her recounting her tale. “My sister lost a sparring match against her. She came to me the next day, saying something about a ‘priestess trained by a ranger to fight’ and how they’d gone for drinks afterwards. She said that Aleine spoke often and very fondly of Celdrin, and that they’d been married for quite a few years. After that night, my sister became her official human guide whenever she visited the kingdom. Said something about her being the keeper of some sort of powerful artifact.” I turned to look back at her. “Anything familiar?” 

She shook her head and sighed. “Like I said, Aleine is a perfectly common name. It does not mean anything for me to call myself the same name as her. You also recounted that she was a priestess, which I am very obviously not.” She fiddled with the wrappings on her bow. “In any case, it was a futile effort on my part at best. Thank you for telling me this memory though, maybe it will come to be useful later.” She got up and stretched, exposed bones creaking as necromantic magic glowed at the effort of keeping her together. “I shall rest now. I am assuming that you shall keep watch?” 

I nodded, turning around to face the empty road and the abandoned forest. We still had a day or two to go, and I could see the spires of Prospera Dea Socia gleaming in the moonlight if I squinted. “Yeah. Good night, Aleine.” 

“I do not actually sleep, I-” She stopped, silent for a few moments. “Good night, Ludleth.” 

A day and a half later, we had finally made it to the Solan Capital. Bobo was in Aleine’s arms, head slung over her shoulder, as Aleine walked a few steps behind me. I stopped before we reached the gates and pulled the elf aside. “Look. We’re about to enter civilization and living people don’t exactly love the undead. They can’t tell that I’m dead with my armor but you have your entire skeletal arm out. You can get some armor when we enter the capital but we need to find a way to cover that up.” I took off my cloak. “You can cover up your right side with this for now.”

She nodded. “I… understand. Thank you for your kindness.” She put on the cloak, positioning it to cover up her arm. 

I grunted, not knowing how to respond. “Right. Follow me.” I approached the main gates, nodding at the 2 guards on watch. 

“Halt!” One of the guards held an armored hand out. “You are about to enter the magnificent city of Prospera Dea Socia. Make sure to-” 

“Keep your weapons sheathed at all times, don’t create violence, report any misdeeds to the guard, glory to the Solan Empire.” I shrugged. “I know, been through this drill a million times.”

The guard opened his mouth, then shut it and stepped back. “Welcome to Prospera Dea Socia.  _ Gloria all’impero Solano. _ ” 

I looked back at Aleine, who was trying very hard to act like everything was normal despite her constantly playing with the edges of the cloak draped on her arm. I cleared my throat, and her eyes flicked over to look at me. “Calm down, you’re going to make the guards think we did something illegal.”

“Oh, right,” She let go of the cloak and shrugged sheepishly. “I apologize.” 

I sighed, turning around and stomping inside. “Let’s just go.”

The gold embroidered marble spires that towered over the city glinted in the sunlight, the glare seeing to go right into my eyes as I squinted. “Sweet old Prospera Dea Socia…” I grumbled, pulling my helmet over my eyes. 

“In Sylvia’s name...” I heard Aleine gasp behind me. “This place is wonderful!” I looked at her, who looked back at me with wide eyes and a grin on her face. “I do not think that I have ever seen so many people, especially not… Were your kind called Humans?” She laughed. “First tiny, green elves; then uglier elves with stubby ears? I wonder what other curious beings lie in this new world…” 

“Keep talking like that and you’ll get punched in the face.” I said, turning back to glance at the road going up the hill. “This way. I have something I need to do.” 

“Oh, it was not my intention to offend you; if I did so, I apologize.” Blissful silence stretched across between us for a few moments, before Aleine spoke up again. “I never asked, but… Where, exactly, go we?” 

“The cemetery, up the hill.” 

“Oh.” Silence. “Why go we to the cemetery?” 

I sighed. “I just need to drop something off.” I picked up my pace, not wanting to hold a conversation any more than I had to. Traveling alone had been lonely, but at least there was silence. We climbed up the hill, Aleine a few footsteps behind me with Bobo on her shoulders. Sooner than I would’ve preferred, the familiar rusted iron gates of the cemetery that glowed menacingly in the noon sun crested over the top of the hill. My feet dragged through the dead grass and loosely-plowed dirt, kicking up dust in every step. One may have blamed the heavy armor I wore to be the cause of this, but the truth was that the weight on my shoulders was not as simple as physical weight. I stopped in front of an unmarked grave. I knew exactly who it was, though, for it was I who put her in there. Floren. I held a breath I no longer needed to take as I crouched down and studied her grave. No signs of struggle, no kicked up dirt… I let out a sigh of relief. It truly seemed like the Game was over for her. “Rest well, my friend.” I muttered. My armor creaked and groaned in protest as I drew myself back up to full height. I glanced back at Aleine. “What do we do now?” 

Aleine blinked, confused for a few moments, before starting to speak slowly. “I believe that we would need a certain amount of gold if we are to either stay in a city or travel any more of a distance. I have a few coins I found still in my pockets, but I doubt that they shall be enough.” 

Bobo, who was still on Aleine’s back, lightly smacked her shoulder. “What if we did some jobs? I’m sure there are tons of people who’d pay for our help!” 

I nodded. “That’s a good plan, Bobo. We should split up and try to do as many jobs as we can before sunset. If I remember correctly, there should be an inn in the middle of the city. We can meet there when we’re done.” 

Bobo jumped down, landing firmly on her feet. She took out her axes and grinned wildly. “Bet I can get more coin than both of you!” As she ran off, Aleine nodded. 

“I shall see if anyone needs plants gathered or animals hunted. Good luck, Ludleth.” Before I could reply, she was gone; her ripped cloak lazily fluttering in the wind as silent but quick footsteps carried her off into the city. I looked around, analyzing my surroundings. Only one person remained, a woman who I knew kept the graves and lived in this cursed place. I approached her, hoping that my armor wouldn’t scare her off. She turned towards me, green eyes dull. 

“Yeah, whaddaya want?”

I coughed, trying to not piss this woman off. “You look like you need something that needs doing, and I need money. I think we can help each other.” 

She glared at me for a few seconds before sighing and rubbing at her eyes. “Sorry for my attitude, this damned place gets on my nerves. If only…” She suddenly brightened up. “My husband, Mercurios, wrote to me a few days ago. I wrote a reply back but I haven’t been able to deliver it. If you’re going to go down to the blacksmith’s shop, can you deliver it to him?” 

I raised an eyebrow. “I can, but I still need payment.” 

She rifled through her pockets and brought out her coin pouch. She took out a few coins. “I can pay you twelve coins, up front. Deal?” 

  
I nodded. “Deal.” 

“Perfect. Wait here.” She ran into her cabin. I heard her rifling around inside, before she thrust a letter into my hand, along with a handful of coin. “Tell him Anna sent you.  _ Il sola sia con te. _ ” I nodded, putting the coins into my pouch. I slowly made my way back into the city, watching the sun start its descent into the horizon. I pulled over a guard as I stepped foot into the Market square. The guard looked me up and down, before leaning on her spear. 

“ _ Sì, cittadino? _ ” 

“I’m looking for the blacksmith. Mercurios.” 

“Mercurios?” She lifted the visor of her helmet. She frowned, then switched to a very heavily accented common. “He doesn’t make armor, if that's what you're looking for. The armorsmith-”

“I know who I’m looking for,  _ custos _ .” I snapped. “Just tell me where he is.” 

The guard eyed the greatsword on my back wearily. “Take the first left. His shop is next to the alchemist.” 

I thanked the guard and started walking further inside. Finding the blacksmith’s shop was simple enough, and the heavy smoke coming out of the shop marked it as being still open. I pushed open the door. Sure enough, a man was dunking a box of freshly-made nails into water. He wiped the sweat from his brow and squinted at me. “How can I help you?” 

I took out the letter from my bag and held it out towards him. “Anna sends her regards.” 

“Oh!” Mercurios took off his gloves and wiped his hands on his apron. “I had been worried about her.” He took the letter and slipped it into his pocket. “Thank you,  _ amico _ .” 

I grunted, not really wanting to respond, and left the store. I had only taken a few steps outside before I ran into Aleine. She at least had the coördination to not collide into me that time. 

“Greetings, Ludleth. Have you been able to acquire rewards for manual tasks, as we decided?” 

“Some woman gave me twelve gold for delivering a letter. You?”

“The alchemist requested a bouquet of an herb called Baby’s Breath. I also killed and skinned half a dozen wolves for the leatherworker the next road over. In total...” She brought out her pouch and started counting. “I have gained ten gold and fifty silver.” She paused and looked at the sky as if she was judging what hour it was. “Bobo is most likely waiting for us at the inn. We should start making our way towards it.” 

“You think she’s done? I’m not sure that she even made it back.”

Aleine raised a wispy eyebrow. “Why not? She is a very good fighter in her own right. Her proficiency with her battle axes is impressive, and she makes up for her size with speed.” 

I crossed my arms. “She’s a  _ child. _ I don’t know about you elves, but we don’t exactly expect nor want our children out fighting for their lives.” 

“Why are you putting it like that?” Aleine scoffed. “She may be a child, but she is clearly more competent in fighting than most adults. Whoever trained her trained her well, and keeping her back would be more of a detriment than protection.” 

I glanced around us as we continued walking. We were attracting weird stares from around us, but I couldn’t care less if I tried. “How trained could she be?” I snapped back. “Goblins are very short lived. She must be about two years old. You and I have had many years to train, she didn’t.” 

“Whatever ‘training’ she lacks, as you put it, she makes up with pure rage. Maybe  _ you humans  _ do not know the true value of fury in actual combat.” Aleine’s tone was mocking, as if she found my ideals truly ridiculous. “The first thing I saw when I first awoke was her executing a creature twice her size. She does not need doting to stay safe.” 

“For someone without memories, you are very insistent about your values.”

“I-” Aleine stopped in her tracks and frowned. “I do not know how, but it must be the same way I can still speak. Just because I do not know who I am does not mean that I shall not represent whatever I was taught. Instinctively I still sustain my culture, despite being its last member.” She looked at me, unblinking, before she sighed. “In any case, I believe that we shall see whether Bobo succeeded or not when we arrive at the inn.” 

We found out the answer before we approached the inn, as a shrill voice yelled in anger and a loud crash could be heard. Aleine and I looked at one another, confusion and worry clear on her expression. She quickly walked up to a window and looked through. I followed right behind her. “What is she doing?”

“She-” Aleine’s ears flattened against her head at a particularly loud crash. “I believe she’s trying to intimidate the owners of this establishment.” 

“What?” I shuffled in next to her. Sure enough, Bobo was standing on the counter with her axes out as she yelled at a bartender. The bartender looked like he was about to piss himself from fear, his eyes open wide and his face pale. “Why?” 

Aleine shrugged. “Her speech is very fast, and my human is too lacking to understand her yelling.”

I went over to the entrance and pushed open the door slowly to not make a sound. With the walls not muffling her voice anymore, one could very easily understand Bobo’s yelling. 

“LISTEN UP! I’M NOT GOING TO REPEAT MYSELF AGAIN: GIVE A ROOM TO ME AND MY FRIENDS, NOW!” 

I glanced at Aleine. “Should we… Do something?” 

“Most likely, yes.” Aleine poked her head through the entrance, and called out in a voice loud enough to be heard over Bobo’s incessant screaming yet softer, less intimidating. “Bobo? Are you in here?”

“What are you doing?” I hissed behind her. “What kind of question is that? Half of the city knows that she’s here!”

She ignored me; though one ear flicking in annoyance let me know that she had, in fact, heard my questions. Bobo suddenly stopped and turned around, the anger on her face replaced with joy as if the past gods know how many minutes had never happened. She jumped down from the counter and ran towards Aleine. 

“Aleine! Ludleth! I got us a room!” She turned towards the bartender again. “Ain’t that right,  _ new friend _ ?” 

The bartender nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, of course!” His voice cracked as he laughed nervously. “Two rooms, free of charge. Dinner and breakfast included, along with free drinks.” 

“Is that so?” I said, grinning wickedly under my helmet.  _ “Maybe Aleine is right, and I underestimated the kid.”  _ While the thought of being wrong about something did sour my mouth, I wouldn’t exactly mind if it was for the better. “‘Free drinks’ sounds great.” The look on the bartender’s face went from a terrified ‘please don’t kill me’ to something more hopeful. 

Aleine picked Bobo up with ease, settling her into her arms as if she was a small puppy being carried. “Let us have a look at this  _ free room  _ you so passionately advertised.” She took a few steps forward towards the rooms, before turning around to glance at me. “You too, Ludleth.” 

“But-” 

“Ludleth.” 

“Free drinks-”

She shot me a glare that could kill somebody. “ _ Free drinks  _ can wait.” 

I grumbled to myself while following her. I was mostly wallowing in my own plight, though I did notice that Aleine slipped a gold piece over the counter towards the bartender, apologizing for his troubles. The man looked like he had struck a vein of gold while out mining and stammered out a thank you. I stayed behind for a few moments longer as Aleine went up the stairs and leaned on the counter. 

“The free drinks are still on, right?” 

“ _ S-sì signore! _ ” 

“Good.” I tapped my knuckles on the counter, pushing myself off. “Because I will be back.” I walked away, not waiting for his response. The wooden stairs creaked and groaned beneath my boots as I climbed up to the second floor. One of the rooms had an open door, and I could hear Aleine talking. 

“... can’t just yell at people like that.” 

“But he was swindlin’ people! He probably saw me and thought I was just some kid he could trick. Who the hell sells a room for ten gold per night? It’s bullshit!” 

“Maybe it was not because you are a child.” I suggested. “Maybe it was because you are a goblin.” 

“Such prejudices are to his faults.” Aleine glanced at me, then turned to Bobo and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I understand your frustration. However, this does not mean that you should stoop to his level.”

“I…” Bobo sighed. “You’re right. I just…” She growled, slamming her tiny fist down on the table she sat on. “It annoys me so much!” 

“I think you responded perfectly.” I leaned on the doorframe, one eyebrow raised. “Honestly, intimidation is less than what some people would’ve done.” 

Aleine’s ears flattened back against her head. “You cannot simply go through life by being aggressive. You-” She shook her head and sighed. “In any case, it is not the time to speak of ideologies. We should wake up early to figure out what to do next. There are only two beds, but-” 

“No need. I will be downstairs getting the most I can out of my free drinks.”

“If you insist.” Aleine got up and walked to the door. “We shall leave you to your drinking, then. Good night.” I opened my mouth to respond, but the door shut in my face before I could.

As I went back downstairs, I came to a realization. In my past few months of undeath, my view of the world had gotten bleak; and though Aleine’s naive world view most likely came from the loss of her memories, it was… refreshing after brewing in pessimism for so long. As I look back on it, back then I did not know that despite our near-constant bickering these events would lead to me finding a family I would have never realized I so desperately needed otherwise.

But until then… 

“Barkeep! One mug of your finest ale, or I set the goblin loose on you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you wish to contact us, our Tumblr is, as always, [right here](https://struggleforpower.tumblr.com/).


	3. An Ocean Full of Mistakes

Bright light shined right into my eyes. I grumbled and pulled the covers over my head. I had gotten a good bed under me and warm blankets over me for the first time in a few weeks and I wasn't about to give them up to some damned light in my eyes. And running around all day and yelling at the bar man made me super tired. I almost fell back asleep until something pulled back the covers.

  
  
“Good morning, Bobo.” Aleine said cheerfully. “It is truly a beautiful day outside, is it not?”

“Wanna sleep.” I muttered and turned over to lie down on my stomach. “‘m tired.” 

“If you refuse to get up, you will start getting hungry.” I lifted my head up slightly to look at her. She had moved across the room towards the door. She looked back at me, ears flicking in amusement. “You do not want Ludleth to consume all of your sustenance before you are able to, do you?” 

I yawned, rubbing my eyes, and jumped out of bed. “Can Ludleth even eat?” 

“That is up to you to find out.” Aleine opened the door and gestured outside. “Now come on, we still have to find ourselves some work to do.” 

“Ugh. Fine.” I yawned out while stretching. “Oh, before I forget,” I pointed out a pouch on the ground. “I got you some new clothes yesterday. Just so ya don’t havta hide your arm and leg anymore.” I ran out of the open door without waiting for her reply. I wasn’t really worried about Ludleth eating all the food, but that didn’t stop me from skipping down the stairs. Just in case, ya know? I skidded into the drinking area, my boots sliding slightly on the glossy wooden floor. “Ludleth! Don’t eat all my food!” 

“I don’t know.” Ludleth picked up one of the meat strips off the smoking plate. “It does look pretty good. If nobody claims it…”

“Don’t you dare!” I jumped on the seat, bouncing a few times, then sat down.

Ludleth pushed the plate towards me without a word. Or maybe he did, but I was too scarfing down my breakfast to hear him. The food tasted great, though. It was probably the best thing about the shiny city. I licked the plate clean when it was empty, then let out a loud burp. Aleine was now standing next to the table, wearing the clothes I got her, joints cracking loudly as she stretched her arms. She leaned on the table. 

“What are we planning to do now?” She pulled on her cloak, adjusting it over her hidden arm to make it more hidden. 

Ludleth leaned a bit forward, resting his elbows on the table. “How much money did we make yesterday?”

Aleine closed her eyes for a few seconds and hummed. “Thirty seven gold and… Seventy five silver.”

“We can check for job postings on the board thingy!” I piped up, feeling very proud of my great idea. “I’m sure we can find something to do there.” 

Aleine nodded. “‘Tis a most brilliant plan. Let us go find this board you spoke of. Feel free to lead the way.” 

The board was right next to a very big, shiny building. It was tall, too tall for me to see properly. Aleine squinted, rubbing the papers on the board with her hand.

“Whatzit say?” 

“I… cannot understand. These runes are unknown to me, nor can I understand how they were created.” 

Ludleth pushed himself forward. “We can discuss how writing works later, Aleine.” He was silent for a few minutes. “There is nothing interesting left for us three here.”

“Actually,” I turned around, startled, reaching for my axes, just in case. The voice came from a high-elven man, dressed in shiny metal armor from head to toe. He took his helmet off and smiled warmly. “I may have a solution for that.” 

Ludleth readied himself to start talking, clearly annoyed, but Aleine cut in first and put her hand on his shoulder. “Before we hear your proposition, may we learn your name?” 

“Oh, right,” The man chuckled nervously. “I’m Maximillian. My partner over there,” He pointed to another man behind him, who was talking to a sleazy-looking Aarokocra. “Is named Gunther.”

“Right. So, Maximillian,” Aleine smiled, fangs shining just like the city itself. “What is this solution you mentioned?”

“You see-” 

“Do not listen to him,” Ludleth turned back to look at the board again. “He’s probably some merchant trying to swindle us out of our money.” 

“I actually am not a merchant, sir.” Maximillian replied calmly. “I’m a guard from the Elfenreich,” He paused. “The Elven Empire. We’ve been sent by the Kaiserin to gather up adventurers who wish to work for the empire.” 

Ludleth shrugged. “Still sounds like a con to me. Why would the ‘Kaiserin’ want adventurers?” 

“It isn’t my place to judge the Kaiserin’s decisions.” 

“I think that this could be a great opportunity for us.” Aleine looked thoughtful. “Where is this Elfenreich?”

“I could take you three there. It’s been a week since I’ve been in this city and I haven’t found anybody else worth the Kaiserin’s time. I’m, to be honest, very bored and would like to return to Reinsfeld.”

Ludleth scoffed and looked at Aleine. “Can you believe this guy?” 

“Actually, I personally think that this could be a great experience.” Aleine shrugged at Ludleth’s shock. “What? Whoever this ‘Kaiserin’ is, I believe that she can offer us many things, and this promise of adventure is the beginning. Additionally,” Her ears twitched again. “As you said, there is nothing left for us here. If we are to move on, why not advance onto this Empire?” 

Ludleth sighed and shook his head. “Fine. But if we end up dead on the shore of an island, it will be your fault.” He glared at Maximillian. “Take us to your city.” 

“Right. We can leave right now, if that’s what you wish. I have a ship waiting on the coast of Aruntium Veli.”

It took us two days to get to the coast. I thought we went fast enough, but that didn’t stop Ludleth from voicing his worries every single time the guard told us that we should make camp. The boat was small, a thick rope around a rock was enough to keep it anchored to shore. Maximillian gestured towards it. “Here we are. Get on, adventurers.”

“This is it?” Ludleth had taken his helmet off. He scowled. “ _ This _ is the boat the almighty Empress of the Elven Empire sent to pick up adventurers?” 

“All of our bigger ships are either defending our shores against pirates or supporting the Half-Elves in their war against the Half-Orcs, as the Orcs are.” The guard was getting obviously irritated. “We wouldn’t have asked for the help of adventurers if our army wasn’t busy.  _ Arschloch  _ —” he muttered the last word. 

Aleine put a hand on Ludleth’s shoulder.“Stop being so rude, Ludleth.” Ludleth tried to hide a not-so-subtle laugh by coughing. Aleine elbowed his side and smiled, strained, at the guard. “Though I have never used this ‘boat’ you speak of, I am sure that ‘tis perfectly adequate for our journey.” 

“Wait.” Ludleth turned to look at Aleine. “You’ve never been on a boat?” 

“Nor do I remember ever seeing such a large body of water. ‘Tis truly fascinating.”

“... You are aware that we shall be crossing the ocean with this boat, right?”

“I am not aware of what an ‘ocean’ means, but if it is necessary I am sure we can  deal with inconveniences to arrive at wherever we are required to be.” She smiled wider. “I am sure that all will be just fine.”   
  


Everything would not be just fine.

Aleine almost immediately got seasick. She would’ve been fine if she could just vomit, but we very quickly found out that she didn’t have a stomach to empty out. Or any other internal organs, really. It was gross, but also kinda cool. The boat was already tiny, and Aleine lying on the floor took up most of the deck. Ludleth spent his time writing in his notebook. Maximillian rowed, mostly. I was bored out of my mind. I, quite honestly, lost what day it was at some point. 

One morning, I woke up to Maximillian hissing out “ _ Scheiße! _ ” under his breath. I groaned and pushed myself up. 

“What day is it? What’s wrong?” 

“ _ Ich hatte gehofft, dass wir das vermeiden können ... _ ” He didn’t seem to notice me talking. Aleine, now feeling the slightest bit better, frowned. 

“What, pray tell, is this fog we are in?” 

“There’s a… fog near Grosserikasfeld —the continent Reinsfeld is in. It sometimes rolls in closer. I was hoping to avoid it, though it seems Lady Luck isn’t on our side today.”

I could practically feel Ludleth’s eye roll. “Oh here we go… “

“Let me take a look.” Aleine crawled over to the wheel, still not being able to walk on the rocking boat, and narrowed her eyes as she studied the fog. “Which way do we have to go to get to Reinsfeld?” 

“A bit further east, then south.”

Aleine started to speak in a weird language. She rambled on as the rest of us looked at her, confused. She turned to look at Maximillian and continued talking. Maximillian stammered back a few words in the same language, clearly struggling. Aleine frowned.

“You do not understand Elvish?” 

Maximillian laughed nervously. “That… That wasn’t Elvish, ma’am. That was a Wood Elven dialect of Ancient Elvish. Ancient languages was never my favorite lesson in school, so I never bothered to learn how to speak it.”

“Ancient..? Oh!” Aleine sighed. “I do suppose that it has been thousands of years…” 

“So,” Ludleth pressed. “What did you say?” 

“I believe I see land.” 

“Land? There shouldn’t be any land on our way. Unless…” Maximillian searched through his bag and pulled out a map. He laid it on the deck and pointed at an island east of a bigger island. “We know that there’s an island right there but…” He shook his head. “We were supposed to be at the other side of Grosserikasfeld. How could we have drifted that far?”

“Maybe we got caught in a current?” Ludleth suggested, putting his notebook into his bag.

“I doubt it…” Maximillian trailed off, still looking at the map. “I’ve been monitoring our way as we sailed and I didn’t see any currents strong enough to change our direction like that.” 

“What if this island isn’t on your maps?” I asked. “Like, maybe your sea people didn’t find this place.” 

“Sailors.” Ludleth said unhelpfully. 

“Yeah, those.” 

“Impossible.” Maximillian sighed. “We were using a common travel route. Everything on this path would be charted already.” 

Ludleth laughed dryly. “And does this fog cover that ‘common travel route’?”

“No, but-” 

“Aleine.” Ludleth cut Maximillian off. “You’re our ranger. What do you think?” 

Aleine had been quiet for a bit, staring off into the same direction she was before. “I believe that you may all be correct in this instance.” 

“What do you mean?”   
  


“I have been… feeling our movements, in a way.. The currents slowly pushed us west. And though it was not enough to reach this island you spoke of, it pushed us off course. Whatever this… land mass is, it is not on these ‘maps’, and it will require further investigation.” She re-strung her bow and slung it on her back. “I suggest haste.” 

Maximillian started rowing, straining to fight the current that was getting harsher with every stroke forward. “Are you sure about this, ma’am?” 

“The goddesses,  _ moltar a n-ainmneacha _ , must have led us to this island for a reason. And, if I am required to be forthright…” She smiled crookedly. “I desire to exit this goddess-forsaken device as soon as possible.”

Maximillian looked at Ludleth and I, clearly hoping that we would convince Aleine that her idea was insane. 

“Finally,” I got up from where I was sitting. “I was so bored!” 

Ludleth shrugged. “Fine by me. I’ve been wanting to stretch my legs. Think we’ll run across any trouble?” 

Aleine hummed thoughtfully. “Trouble is always a possibility. But, somehow... I know that there are not any intelligent creatures that walk on two legs on that island.” 

“You mean humanoids?”

“Elfoids.” 

“What the hell is a- Fine.” 

The fog cleared somewhat as we hit the sand of a beach. Aleine was the first off the boat. She stood on the sand with shaky legs and sighed, relieved. “Finally, actual ground under my feet.”

I jumped out and started running around, trying to let out all the pent-up energy from weeks of sitting. Ludleth stepped off, then turned around and looked at Maximillian. “Will you follow?” 

“I-I think I’ll just wait right here.” The guard stammered out. “Get the boat ready to leave and all that. This place gives me the creeps.” 

Ludleth looked back at us. Aleine has started moving deeper into the island. He turned back at Maximillian and grabbed him by the collar. “If I notice you leave without us, I will track you down and kill you. You understand?” 

Maximillian nodded quickly. “ _ Jawohl!  _ Y-yes, I understand!” 

“Good.” Ludleth let him go, then turned around and started following Aleine. “Come, Bobo. We shouldn’t get left behind.”

We eventually reached Aleine, the undead elf waiting for us. She seemed to be right at home in the forest. She moved with a sort of familiarity, despite never being on this island before, weaving between the trees like some sort of forest spirit. She grinned. “Took you long enough.” She pointed to a large building in front of us. “This place is… bizarre. The only living beings on this island are flora. There seems to be a place for worship in the center, though I could not recognize which Goddess it is for.” 

Ludleth opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off by running ahead. “Come on let’s go already!” 

“Bobo, wait!” Aleine and Ludleth started running after me, but I was faster than them. There was a stone door that closed off the building. Of course, it didn’t stand a chance against me and my axes. The door crumbled, and I landed in total darkness. 

“Uh...” I looked around. I couldn't see anything. “Aleine?” I called out. “Ludleth? Are you there?” 

I felt myself being lifted, a skeletal hand digging into my side. I started twisting and turning, kicking my legs and swinging my fists, trying my best to get free. “Let me go you vile fiend!” 

“Calm down, Bobo.” I heard Aleine say as she pulled me out of the doorway. 

I went limp in her grip. “What the hell was that?” 

“‘Tis some sort of darkness no light belonging to the grace of Sarenrae can penetrate.”

Ludleth grunted. “Something doesn’t want us in there.” 

“Agreed.” Aleine shrugged. “And I say, why tempt it?” She nodded towards the stairs on the other side of the door. “The building continues upwards. Perhaps our destination is there?” 

“Makes sense.” Ludleth looked at me. “Try to not run ahead again, Bobo.”

“I’ll try, but no promises.” I wiggled around in Aleine’s arms. “Not like I can go anywhere right now.” Aleine laughed as she lifted me up on her shoulders and sauntered up the spiral stairs. After what seemed like forever —I was grateful that the undead elf had decided to carry me— we reached the top. Giant pillars with strange, glowing symbols on them reached out to the sky. The symbols shifted colors: blue, yellow, black, cyan, grey, blue... It was almost hypnotising to watch. Candles were laid down in a circle around the pillars, unlit. In the middle was a bowl filled with some sort of colorful powder. Aleine gently put me down on the floor and took a few steps towards the strange scene. She lifted one hand and traced over the symbols, then looked at her finger. 

“Curious. These symbols leave traces on one’s finger when touched.” She showed us her hand, which had some chalk on it. “I have never heard of a writing instrument that leaves remains.” 

Ludleth took a cautious step to stand closer to Aleine. “It’s just chalk. The real question is: Why is it changing colors like that?” 

Aleine glanced at Ludleth, one wispy eyebrow raised. “Is that even a question to be asked? Can you not feel it around you? The magic is so strong here that one can nigh taste it.” 

“Wait.” Ludleth turned to look at Aleine properly. “You can  _ feel _ magic?” 

“All elves can, in a sense. We are naturally lenient towards magic and I, despite my undeath dulling certain senses, can still feel it around me if I concentrate enough.”

“And what do you think about it?”

“I cannot detect what type of magic it is, but I can say that I do not like it. It feels… sinister.” She prodded at the candles with her foot. “‘Tis connected to the candles on the ground. Logic would suggest them being the catalyst for this ritual, whatever the purpose is.”

“Any ideas about what it does?” 

Aleine shrugged. “How should I know? The structure looks younger than I am. On top of that, the ritual itself does not look elven to me.”

“Let me see.” Ludleth leaned in to read the symbols, then shook his head. “The scripture is most certainly Human, though I can’t exactly figure it out. A few words make sense to me here and there, but that’s it.” 

“What can you understand?”

Ludleth stood up straight and leaned back to crack his spine. “Moon.”   
  


“Moon?”   
  


“The moon is repeated multiple times through the text. There’s a… disturbing theme about it. You see...” 

Aleine and Ludleth talking slowly faded into the background as another voice spoke to me, whispering behind my ears in a language I couldn’t understand. I whipped around, trying to find the source, but whichever way I turned it stayed behind me. As the whispers continued, they started to make sense —word by word I understood what it was trying to say to me. 

_ “You know what you must do.”  _

The sentence repeated over and over again, droning out all other noises. I slowly reached for my pack and brought out a torch. I walked towards the candle closest to me. I wasn’t even controlling my own body anymore, I merely watched as I lit the torch and moved the fire to the candle, lighting the wick. The torch dropped to the ground as I suddenly got my body back. I could hear Aleine and Ludleth yelling, screaming, but I couldn’t respond. I could only watch the flames spread at an impossible speed, colorful dust rising from the ground to form an artificial fog. The flames spilled over and spread to the bowl as the symbols on the pillars glowed ever so brighter. A dark purple chain shot out from the ground towards the sky, towards the moon. 

I felt my body being lifted up, Ludleth grabbing me as he and Aleine started to sprint away as fast as they both could. We skipped down the stairs, ran full speed into the forest, and came out to the other side to see Maximillian looking up to the sky. The panic was clear on his face and his voice as he yelled out “What did you do?”

“No time to explain!” Ludleth put me down in the boat and began to push it off the coast. Aleine vaulted over the edge and into the boat, then pulled Ludleth inside when he couldn’t push anymore. 

We only stopped rowing when the coast disappeared out of sight. Aleine laid back, praying under her breath, as Maximillian tried to catch his breath. Ludleth had his head between his hands. “We need to figure out what happened.” 

Aleine sighed. “Today, we set off a dark ritual. That much, we can be sure of.” 

“Look, guys,” The three of them looked at me. “I dunno what came over me! I didn’t mean to do it, I swear.”

“‘Tis alright, Bobo. One could reasonably infer from the black smoke coming off your body that it was not you who was in control.” 

“I agree.” Ludleth nodded. “It is of no interest to blame each other. We need to figure out what to do next.” An awkward silence took over us, the entire boat stewing in their thoughts. Eventually, Maximillian slowly spoke up.

“I know of someone who can help.” He stared off into the sea. “Erika, the court Chaplain. She’s the High Priestess of the Hientrutt Temple. If anyone knows of what happened just now, it’s her. I strongly recommend talking to her after you meet the Kaiserin.”

Ludleth lifted his head, confused. “Why after? Shouldn’t we meet the Chaplain as soon as possible?” 

“There’s an order to how things must be done. You’re going to Reinsfeld to meet the Kaiserin, and she probably has a challenge for all you adventurers. It would be rude to not talk to her first.” 

We spent the rest one and a half months listening to Ludleth complain under his breath about “stuffy nobles”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you wish to contact us, our Tumblr is, as always, [right here](https://struggleforpower.tumblr.com/).


End file.
